-(으)ㄴ/는 탓에

because of, due to (blaming it for a bad result); N 탓에

Level 4 · TOPIK II · intermediate

How to use it

Gives the cause of a negative result, with a nuance of blame. Verbs usually take -(으)ㄴ 탓에 (the cause happened before), adjectives -(으)ㄴ 탓에. With nouns: N 탓에, N 탓이다.

Forming it

자다	→ 잔 탓에
춥다	→ 추운 탓에
부족하다	→ 부족한 탓에
날씨	→ 날씨 탓에

Not for good results: ✗ 친구가 도와준 탓에 합격했어요 → 도와준 덕분에. Clause 2 can't be a command or suggestion.

Examples

어젯밤에 늦게 잔 탓에 수업에 지각했어요.
I was late for class because I went to bed late last night.
날씨가 추운 탓에 감기에 걸린 사람이 많아요.
Because of the cold weather, lots of people have caught colds.

Compared with similar patterns

-(으)ㄴ/는 덕분에 (G3-035) is for good results ('thanks to'). -는 바람에 (G3-023) stresses a sudden, unexpected cause. -기 때문에 (G2-007) is neutral.